


Red Stains

by Agib



Series: Febuwhump 2020 [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Injury, Hurt Tony Stark, Stabbing, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump, Worried Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:47:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22557373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agib/pseuds/Agib
Summary: It's a Wednesday. Peter has training.But he can tell there's somethingwrong.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Febuwhump 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619311
Comments: 9
Kudos: 250





	Red Stains

**Author's Note:**

> Febuwhump Yay!
> 
> I zoom zoomed through this I had a thirteen hour day yesterday let's GOOO (apologies for any grammatical errors)!

_“And when this is all over,” the man spat, “for good.” He leant down, his mouth stretching into a lopsided smirk, “I hope they’ll remember you.”_

_A stained knife hit the carpet, smearing red across it as the blade bounced and skittered off the soft material and onto the tile of the kitchen._

_Quiet._

_Quiet._

_A raspy inhale._

_Silence._

_More silence._

_The twitch of a finger._

_Slaughter of the fallen._

\----

It was a Wednesday, which meant two things. Peter had a double period of advanced calculus in the morning, and chemistry last period. It also meant that he had training at the tower as soon as he could haul-ass across town to SI.

The majority of his attention stayed on the clock at the front of the room, and not on his worksheet. The clock was thirty-two seconds slower than the bell was, so he subtly slipped his workbook back into his bag and hiked it up onto his shoulder with about four seconds left of actual class time.

He winced as the sharp ringing pierced through his skull, but it didn’t stop him moving. He got funnelled out the front gates along with the rest of the crowd, and as soon as he could, Peter broke off. It took five minutes to find an alleyway that stayed empty enough for him to change, and another thirty minutes to make his way across town.

Exhilarating was one way you could describe web-slinging. Without fail, every split second between the connection of each web made his stomach drop. But the energy it took to keep himself in the air and not squashed flat against the pavement was worth the enjoyment. It was strange to think that for over fourteen years of his life were spent powerless, with less than mediocre sight, asthma and a tendency to walk into things on an hourly basis.

And now he was here, a superhuman. Super _spider_.

\----

If he had to choose a word to describe the state of SI when he crawled in through the window beside the labs Tony always left open – Peter would choose chaotic.

People were bustling through levels of the tower that were usually silent, using key cards and scanning badges obsessively. Security guards were littered throughout the hallways. 

He could feel his senses buzzing drearily at the back of his skull.

A flicker of strawberry blonde hair pulled back taught in a ponytail caught his attention and he immediately skittered after it.

“Mrs. Potts!” Pepper turned, her eyes were watery, and stress exuded from her every pore. Peter slowed down, concern breaking out across his face. “What’s going on? Why are there so many people?”

“Pete, what are you doing all the way out here?” She asked, looking concerned herself, eyes flickering between every person bustling around them.

“It – it’s a Wednesday,” Peter answered. “I have training this afternoon.” Pepper nodded once; her mouth pressed into a thin line. She looked like she was holding something back, unsure of how to continue. “Is everything okay?” The boy asked cautiously. “You look upset…”

“Pete,” Pepper sighed, rubbing the skin beneath her eyes as if wiping away tears that hadn’t fallen. She looked up at the ceiling, a slight tremble to her lip. “We had a security breach, so that’s being sorted right now.” Pepper tilted her chin back down, brushing her hands nervously against the seams of her blazer. “I’ll get Happy to drive you back to your apartment for today, we can catch up next Wednesday. Is that okay hon?” Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she touched his shoulder.

“Um, yeah – yeah of course. You mind if I say bye to –”

“Happy!” Pepper called, looking relieved to see him. Peter bristled slightly; he was being jostled along the hallway like a bumper car. Now that he paid attention, majority of the people were in security uniforms, not worker uniforms.

How bad of a security breach must it have been?

Happy turned, his face was twisted with stress and worry, much more than usual. His eyes widened when he turned to face Pepper and saw the kid at her side. He immediately shuffled over towards them, telling a group of guards behind him to widen the perimeter.

“Kid, why are you here?” He asked bluntly, taking both of his hands and placing them on Peter’s shoulders instead of Pepper’s. “Are you in your suit under these clothes?” He exhaled heavily. “Wednesday,” he murmured quietly. “Training, right,” he interrupted before Peter could explain. 

“Can you take him home, I can manage… this – I can manage things for a bit.” Pepper spared a moment to touch Peter’s cheek with another watery smile. “Talk soon, okay?” The boy nodded, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Anxiety was rolling from Happy and Pepper in waves.

“Come on then,” Happy urged, his voice gentler than his standard gruff clips. He guided Peter towards the elevator as he finished, “let’s get you home. Just for today, yeah?”

Peter stiffened slightly as he stepped into the small space. The buzzing at the base of his skull had peeled outwards through his head and was throbbing worryingly. Something was wrong.

“What was the breach Mrs. Potts mentioned?” Happy looked straight ahead, one hand on Peter’s shoulder and the other jabbing at their floor number insistently.

“Uh, we had some, well – uh – we’re still looking into it.” He didn’t sound sure of himself, and that was one of the only things Happy was consistently doing – sounding in charge.

Peter bit his lip, staying quiet as they lowered to the bottom level. There was so much rolling around inside his head, and all he wanted to do was ask questions. With how Happy was acting, he didn’t feel like it was the best time nor place to do anything of the sort.

Both of them stayed silent as they got into the car too. Peter wasn’t enjoying the taught quietness, and he knew something had to have happened that he wasn’t being told about. He felt closer to a kid when people – especially adults – kept things from him as if he wouldn’t be able to deal with it like they could. Mr. Stark never treated him like that. He was straight about things.

“Can I call Mr. Stark to let him know I’ll see him next Wednesday?” He asked, frowning when Happy’s fingers curled tighter around the steering wheel. Knuckles white.

“Peter,” Happy said, something unreadable in his tone.

Something was wrong. _Something was wrong_.

“Is everything okay with him?” Peter continued; his voice slightly sharper than before. Happy glanced into the rear-view mirror, meeting the boy’s eyes with a regretful expression dancing in them. “Happy, is Tony okay?” Peter grit, hoping the use of Tony’s first name would emphasise the fact that he _needed to know_.

“Kid, the uh – the security breach, it um –”

“Happy! Is he _okay?_ ” Peter snapped, finally.

Happy stayed quiet for another moment, and only spoke again when Peter opened his mouth, fully prepared to begin yelling.

“He’s not doing great, kid. I’m sorry.”

The hopelessness in the man’s tone was what cut through the haze of disbelief. Peter shook his head, the interior of the car growing blurry with tears. Happy never spoke so softly, so quietly, with a heavy weight that crushed the two of them like bricks.

“T – turn around,” Peter mumbled. Happy turned in his seat, his face locked behind shutters which essentially did the compartmentalisation for him. “Turn the car around please,” Peter repeated, his voice still small but carrying a tone that no teenage kid should be able to replicate. “I’m coming back to the tower with you. W – we’re gonna help Mrs. Potts.”

“Pete, he’s in surgery. There isn’t anything you can do for him right now.” Even the tenor in Happy’s voice was unconfident. He didn’t want to remove Peter from this situation, he didn’t want to be the ‘responsible adult’ shooing the kid away.

“We’re going to help Mrs. Potts,” Peter reiterated, “and all three of us are going to be there when Mr. Stark wakes up.” 

The boy had his own white-knuckled grip on the arm rest beside him, his chest rising and falling in rapid beats. Happy slowed the car and pulled off to the side of the road, not quite feeling the need for a dramatic U-turn just yet.

“Peter –”

“We’re gonna be there when he wakes up because _he’s gonna wake up_.” Peter’s voice crackled, his eyes squeezing shut as Happy turned them back in the direction of the tower. Tears dripped into the boy’s lap, and he didn’t bother to wipe what would just continue to fall.

\----

Pepper didn’t bother to say a word when Happy trailed in behind Peter, who’s cheeks were glistening with moisture despite the fiery determination in his eyes. He looked steely, and it reminded her of Tony when he was trying not to let something get to him.

She gave a wordless look at the boy before patting the seat beside her. He sat, and so did Happy. All three of them in a row, staring blankly ahead at the med bay’s bleached, headache-inducing white tiles.

Peter felt a hand gripping his, and he gently squeezed right back, noting the shaky smile Pepper gave out of the corner of his eye.

And so, they waited in solidarity.

\----

_They would need carpet cleaner, and something to wipe the tiles of the kitchen with. Probably bleach for the carpet too, lemon juice or some other at home remedy for the stain that resembled something as innocent as a wine spill._

_They wished it were only that simple._

_The knife was in an evidence bag, probably being filed away somewhere. There had been a photographer, the security tapes from all across the tower were being catalogued and analysed. Everything was being fixed._

_Except for. That. Damned. **Stain**._

\----

“Mrs. Potts?”

“Yes!” Pepper stood, Peter right along with her, his hand still gently clasped between her two. Happy stood soon after, his face crestfallen as if he had spent the past forty minutes convincing himself the news, they would receive in this moment would shatter them.

“He’s out of surgery, you can wait in his room now. Until the anaesthetic wears off, he won’t be conscious, but he’s breathing on his own, which is a great sign. Everything should be alright.”

Peter knew that was the sugared version of how his mentor was truly fairing. There was no way things weren’t touch and go for awhile there. Happy and Pepper knew that too – better than anyone.

Tony’s room was dull, plain, but comfortable. Peter was almost glad to recognise the fact that it could be a room for anyone, and that Tony didn’t need his own designated room in the med bay. Because occurrences like this weren’t supposed to happen often, or ever really.

The bed looked soft, and the three chairs scooted around the edges of it were suitable enough to wait out Tony’s slow trudge into consciousness.

After an hour of quiet, save for Pepper tapping at a screen, Happy bouncing his leg and Peter scratching at the fabric of the covers beside Tony’s hand on the bed, the three were ready for the movement.

It was just a flicker. A small twitch of the finger. Fluttering of the lid.

Three nicknames came out softly, but all at once.

A mentor, a husband, a friend.

“ – e – ey,” he winced, swallowing roughly. “Hey,” he tried again. Three terrified sets of eyes blinked back at him, each expression untightening as he smiled as gently as he could. “What’s with the welcome party?”

A hug, a squeeze on the shoulder and a head of curls beneath his chin followed in quick succession.

“You scared us,” Pepper said weakly. Happy set a cup of water with a straw in it beside the man’s hand.

“It’s a Wednesday,” Peter explained. “I wasn’t just going to ditch you like that.”

Tony’s second smile was more genuine.

**Author's Note:**

> Give @spidersonangst @febufluff-whump (on Tumblr) all the credit, the only reason this is happening this month is because of them!


End file.
